Second Chances
by Raven Silvers
Summary: Mina celebrates the new year with an unexpected friend, in the process giving herself a second chance.


A/N: I just got my LXG DVD! I just got my LXG DVD! *screams* I wrote this in honor of the little DVD sitting next to me on the table right now. *adjusts one of the spotlights that shines on the DVD*

* * *

**SECOND CHANCES**

              A ghost of a smile crossed Mina Harker's beautiful face as she sat at the bar, watching and listening as the youngsters of the era partied the night away.

              It was December 31st, 1999; now, it was 11:44 at night. Soon the new millennium would be ushered in, and fireworks would explode across the sky in dazzling displays of light.

              Mina was looking forward to that; although she was more than a century old, she was still fascinated by the sight of fireworks. She sipped her gin tonic delicately; men and women, young and carefree — for this night, anyway — danced in ways that, a century ago, would have been considered outrageous. 

              She found her thoughts wandering, away from the bright lights and loud music, away from the dance floor and the era in general. 

              After the third and final mission the League had undertook, Jekyll and herself had gotten very close; Skinner and his friendship had deepened. Only after a near-death experience had Jekyll mustered the courage — only after being egged on by Skinner — to propose to Mina. She had, gratefully, accepted; three months after that, they got married, the invisible thief their best man. Captain Nemo and Tom had been there as well, Tom looking a little forlorn. Mina did know that her heart had been competed for by three men, Tom being one of them.   

              Tom had left England after that, never to be heard of again. Mina did received some unconfirmed reports from their friend the captain that the affable American had been killed in the line of duty. There had been no funeral, nor memorial, so she assumed that it was the American government had engineered his death, for a reason only known to them. By then, she was Mrs. Dr. Henry Jekyll, content in her new life. 

              Still, she never did forget Dorian.

              The man after her first husband.

              The one man who would forever remain in her memory, no matter how many centuries passed. The one man who had loved her like no other, with a passion that could only be brought on by immortality. 

              She had killed him; then, she hadn't thought about it. It had been an instinct to live, to carry on. But over the years, she realized that since he knew she was a vampire — why didn't he stab her through the heart? Why didn't he really try to kill her, instead of simply injuring her? She had thought long and hard over it. Her husband had told her that it had been a choice...maybe why Dorian hadn't stabbed her in the right place and didn't close his eyes when she showed him his portrait was because he had wanted to die. 

              _So many maybes, _Mina mused. _We live our whole lives on maybes. Even immortals do. _

              She sipped her gin tonic once more, eyes absently scanning the room. The MC right now was introducing the DJ who would take them through midnight, until daybreak. Mina had heard from her younger colleagues that this DJ was one of the best and most in demand, around the world. Every major party event wanted her to grace the occasion. She was famous, and high in demand.

              "Ladies and gents," the MC roared into the mike, over the loud music, "I present to you, the one and only DJ Lady Gray!" The youths roared in approval as the young woman started her mixing. _She **is** good, _Mina admitted to herself. _No wonder she is so popular among the youngsters._

She watched as the DJ Lady Gray wove her musical magic — absently, she wondered what her late husbands would say about it ­—  and wild dancing commenced. She would be lying if she said that she understood why and how they did it — to her it was all jumping around and shaking one's hips — but she did understand that each decade brought its own fashion, dancing and music into the world. The rock of the eighties and the techno of the nineties were good examples. Sometimes it surprised her how much the world had changed. 

              Mina had adapted well to the use of computers, and although she preferred traditional pen-and-paper notebooks to the new fangled laptops, she still used them. She still had a collection of hers and her husband's notebooks at home; Skinner, after Jekyll's premature death, had made sure they were locked up in a room where no thieves would be able to get in. To quote him, even he "couldn't get in 'less I blew the house up!". 

              After Jekyll's sudden death, Skinner had become an even closer family friend. He supported her through the grief and mourning at losing her husband and two children. The loss had been so very great; there had been times when she was ready to give up, despite her strong nature. Skinner had been there, taking the brunt of her anger and bearing some of the weight that she carried. Only just before his death did she fully realize how much he had helped her. She might not have survived those days without him. After his death, she had found his journal. 

              She did not know what had possessed her to do so, but she read the journal from cover to cover. Rodney Skinner wasn't exactly a man of habit when it came to writing in his journal, so entries could be dated years apart. But when he did write, the entries were long and insightful, the more intelligent thoughts of the thief all written down. Maybe not neatly, but at least his handwriting could be deciphered. 

              Mina had been very surprised when she read the entry, dated late October, early in the 1900's. He had sworn he would never marry if Mina didn't in his lifetime. _He never married...he had found the perfect woman to be his wife, but because of me, he didn't marry her. _

              She spotted a man heading towards her way, and inwardly she sighed. Over an hour she had fended off seven invitations to go to a "private spot" with men much younger than her. Although by how much, they had no clue. It was amusing, really. Her icy blue eyes followed the approaching figure and she raised a brow even as the man came closer, moving in the opposite direction to the late couples heading towards the dance floor.

              "11:48!" somebody yelled. Another roar from the crowded bar, and Mina's brow shot up in amusement. But now, the man had come closer, and she sat up straight. He came up to stand in font of her, and took a sip from his wine.

              "Mina," Dorian Gray drawled, giving her the look that used to make her weak in the knees. "I haven't seen you around." 

              "...Dorian," she managed to whisper. Memories came flooding back to her, all the times they had shared. The party at which they met, the passionate sessions they had had. "But how...?" 

              Dorian gave her his signature smug yet mysterious smile, still as seductive as it had been more than a century ago. He offered her his arm, and stunned, she took it, not really noticing that she brought her drink along with her. _How could he be alive? He died...I killed him. I saw his body rot, I saw his picture restore itself..._

              Dorian lead Mina to an empty table at the side, and pulled out the seat for her. She didn't know what to say or do and just sat down. He took the seat opposite her and watched her.

              "How did you survive?" she shot at him, choosing the most pressing question amongst the hundreds running around her head. 

              "Ah, Mina," Dorian told her, in a mildly chiding tone, "you should know better than most about the supernatural." He leaned back in his seat, crossing his long legs. He wasn't exactly dressed in his gray smoking suit anymore, but still looked absolutely dashing. "I came back," he stated, with a mildly bored tone to his voice, "I don't know how, but I came back, with nothing wrong with me." 

              Mina remained silent. Finally, she spoke. "What are you doing here tonight?" 

              "Why, celebrating the new millennium, of course," Dorian told her, regarding her with dark eyes. "Although I'm surprised to see you here. You never did strike me as the type who would come to such a place."

              "Times have changed, Dorian," Mina replied. "When the League was formed, this kind of dancing would have shocked even the Queen's office." Dorian inclined his head in agreement. In the background, the DJ Lady Gray kept on doing her thing; there was a loud chime, as the MC took over for a moment with a "10 minutes to midnight!". 

              The two immortals regarded each other. Mina, with her icy blue eyes, and Dorian, with his seductive black ones. To any casual observer, they looked more like feuding lovers. Which they were, really, if one thought about it. The twist here was that one of them was supposed to be dead for the past century. 

              "It seems to me," Dorian said, examining his glass of wine, "that the past century has been kind to you." 

              "Hardly," Mina sniffed. "I have attended too many funerals."

              "Ah," Dorian said. "And you? How have you been, these many years."

              "I'm fine," she said. "I had gotten married, had children." 

              "And what happened to them?" Dorian leaned in. _Must he ask this question? _Mina thought to herself. _Remembering Henry is painful enough...I don't want to have to recall what happened to James and Sarah._

"They died," she answered stiffly. Someone announced that it was three minutes to the new year. 

             _New years usually mean new beginnings, _Dorian thought, watching her carefully, judging her reaction. He saw the dimming of the fire in her eyes, the slight dip of her head when he inquired about her children. "Oh. My condolences." Then he thought of something. "Was it painful for them?" 

              "I don't know. It was raining that night. We couldn't see much...the car crashed into a ditch. I was unconscious. When I came to, I was in the hospital. Skinner was by my bedside. He was the one who told me that they had not survived." Silence passed between them, and it remained like that for a few minutes. Just after the five minute call to midnight, Dorian stood up.

              "May I have this dance?" he offered her his arm once more. Lady Gray — Mina chose to ignore the Gray part — had taken a break, and now it what the in-house band played was nice and slow, and Mina knew that the in the two minutes before the new year, Gray would begin again. Until then, though, those who had been dancing would have a break, as would Gray. After all, most of the club's patrons would be partying through the whole morning and Gray would be playing for them throughout that whole time.  

              Mina didn't know why, but she accepted. As they headed to the dance floor and mingled while they dance, gyrating their hips, Dorian made the first move by coming up close, and whispering in her ear. "They say new years are times for new beginnings...and second chances." Mina didn't really respond, just accepted that he was making a move on her by placing her hands on his chest. Dorian was reminded of the times that, so long ago, had shared. Now, though, was not the time to reminisce. 

              The two just danced like that for a while, and by unspoken agreement, went back to their table when the floor began to fill up as it got ever closer to midnight. 

              "I hope it's possible to pick up where we last left off," Dorian said to Mina. "On good terms, that is." 

              "I didn't think you would want to be killed again," Mina told him dryly.  "Even before that, incident our parting was hardly admirable."  Dorian sighed. _She has always been hard to get. Well, I suppose that's part of her nature. _"Fine. Are you willing to start over, start a new life?"

              "With you." It was not a question; it was a statement. 

              "With me." Dorian was hopeful. "One more chance is all I ask of you." 

              "One more chance," she echoed. Someone started the countdown to midnight. People began to join in, and soon it was almost as loud as the music. Somewhere in the background, the MC was telling them to kiss at the stroke of midnight; just grab the closest person — hopefully it was your date — and kiss him or her. Mina wasn't with them, not in mind; Dorian could see in her eyes that she was far-off, reviewing her long life and all the missed opportunities, the missed chances, the lost loves…

              "20 seconds!" someone nearby yelled, drawing Mina back to the real world. Dorian still looked at her, expecting an answer. 

              "One more chance," Mina smiled. Dorian touched her hand, and drew her to the dance floor. It wasn't as if anyone was dancing. They were looking at the big screen that usually showed dizzying graphics to accompany the music. It was now showing the number of seconds to midnight. Slowly it kept on going, seconds ticking away. 

              "10...9...8...7..." almost all chanted, all music stopped. Dorian took Mina's hand, and she flashed him a smile. A smile full of hope for a new start. "...4...3...2...1...0!" 

              The lights went out, and then Mina felt Dorian's lips pressing against her. Gratefully, and not without a little passion, she let him in, savoring the feeling of his lips, how firm yet gentle they were; the heat of his body pressed against her; the rise and fall of his chest. It was a feast for her heightened senses, not that she minded it at all. 

              _One more chance, _a voice in her mind told her. _Give him one more chance. Give yourself one more chance. _Mina surrender herself to Dorian's love. She didn't know how long it would last, nor how strong it really was...all she knew was that he deserved one more chance. 

              _She _deserved one more chance to live life as most normal people did. She wasn't even fully human, but she lived a human life, worked in a human job, had humans for colleagues. She lived and worked with them, and so she tried to live as one of them. Sometimes she wasn't really successful, but she tried....and she had one more chance.__

_              A second millennium. A second chance. _

Mina let herself smile a little in Dorian's deep kiss.

              _I'll take it. _

* * *

A/N: Ack. I don't think this is good....hell, this is probably one of my worst pieces of work, if not **the **worst. Flame is understood. Praise will make me love you. And the DVD will cheer. 


End file.
